WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Gay adult star Dino Phillips has passed away, according to social media reports and also local West Hollywood news blog The WeHo Times.
The cause of death was not reported but was said to be unexpected and sudden. A GoFundMe campaign has been organized to help with final expenses.
“I was sad to see this news about a fellow colleague that I worked with in my blue movie days back in 1980-96,” said Sabin Gray, when he shared the link to the GoFundMe.
“Dino Phillips was a sweet guy who I always could depend on to help me out with charity fundraisers and events. The last time I saw him I was visiting L.A., Mickey Skee and I sat with Dino and director Jerry Douglass at the opening night of Jerry’s play about Deep Throat. Now sadly they are both gone. Please donate to help cover his final expenses if you can.
“Rest well sweet prince, you touched many lives with your kindness and will be missed ... feeling sad,” Gray added.
Phillips, who was an active performer from the mid-‘90s to 2009, appeared for several gay legacy studios and lines including Video 10, Vivid Man, HIS, Hot Desert Knights, All Worlds Video and Catalina Video, among others.
AVN Hall of Fame director, legendary DJ and drag personality Chi Chi LaRue (who began directing at Catalina, and eventually owned the All Worlds catalog when it was acquired by LaRue’s Channel 1 Releasing), posted a headshot of Phillips in his performing days and the boxcover of Happily Ever After, featuring Phillips, from the All Worlds Gold Collection line, for which Phillips was awarded GayVN Best Supporting Actor in 1997. A year earlier, in 1996, Phillips was crowned Best Newcomer at The Grabbys.
LaRue wrote, “So sad R.I.P. Dino Phillips” with heart emojis.
Local WeHo entertainment personality Billy Masters recalled Phillips in a post that said, “Billy's Gay Porn Posse was a mainstay in West Hollywood most weekends about a decade ago. And we most certainly lived life to the fullest (and then some). This photo shows the core of the group—me with Dino Phillips, Kurt Young and Kevin Kramer.
“I thought about this a lot when Kurt told me that Dino suddenly passed away,” Masters continued. “Kurt started a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the costs of final expenses for D's family. If you partied with us, slept with us, or just enjoyed any of us on a screen either large or small, I'm hoping you'll contribute using the link below. No amount is too small—words I thought I'd never say!! You don't have to tell your name—but your generosity can help us say farewell with dignity, xoxo.”
The GoFundMe campaign, at this writing, had achieved more than $6,000 of its $8,000 goal.
